This is a message I sent to one of our friends here on " aboutbfs " she was extremely helpful and has to be one of the nicest people I've encountered in my life. I'm thankful i have a friend like that now. Thank you Yuliasir. I would like to reach out to the bfs family and see if I can get some more Reassurance..

I've been holding off writing you this week because I don't want to really bother you but you had such insight and were so helpful.. I've been going down hill this week bad. My anxiety and panic is through the roof I keep looking at my left arm which feels very funny to me And weak, i can lift my arms over my head and ive been going to the gym every other day, tredmill and weights, my left shoulder feels weak and when I work out left arm shakes some when lifting weights, my hand and wrist Look atrophied. I still having whole body Fasciculations but now as of yesterday feel my arch of my feet are going to cramp up. I don't actually get the cramp but feel like its just about to go into one. Is that silly ? Also this morning my left hand near the middle Knuckle felt like it was going into a cramp like feeling, my heart dropped and I've been shaking Literally since then. Also now in my left leg I get like this vibration buzzing feeling on outside of my calf. Having some slurred speech, Tongue has a stingy like feeling and feels swollen to me at times. I drink a lot of water ( to see if I choke) and feel after I drink I have a little bit that stays In throat and I have to clear or give a little cough. Also have this lump like feeling in my throat a lot of the time. I take Calcium and magnesium with vitamin D supplements as well .I believe I'm close to having a nervous breakdown. Also. My left arm muscles are always sore from working out and my right arm has got over that part when you start to workout again ( three weeks ). Today's is my 23rd Anniversary, And all I keep thinking about is leaving my family in such disarray.. I can barely type my hands are shaking. I don't know what to do. I'm so scared.

Thank you for listening to me.

B

Last edited by Lilbil90 on September 30th, 2013, 7:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

I understand how scared you feel. I have been through months of health anxiety, triggered by the onset of tingling/numbness in my left arm. After that I experienced numbness in every limb, along with twitching in various muscles. I've had muscle pain, tendon pain, stiffness, and last week experienced the "lump in the throat sensation," which sent me into a tailspin. It should be reassuring for you to know that so many people on this board experience the array of symptoms you describe. The hardest thing I'm finding about BFS is accepting the fact that all these crazy symptoms are normal. Whatever you do, don't google your symptoms and don't read other forums. What has helped me is limiting my "research" to this board, along with certain spiritual practices: prayer, meditation, deep breathing/relaxation techniques, yoga, acupuncture. Do whatever you can to calm down your nervous system. And don't let your anxiety eat you alive. I wasted months worrying that BFS was something more sinister. Don't go down the road. You're going to be fine!

Hello. I am new here myself. I started having random twitching Sept 5th which blew up into all over twitching within 24 hrs. I have experienced electric zaps, buzzing, sense of weakness, & feeling of itching all over. I even missed a day of work & developed insomnia. I do feel Googling muscle twitching was the worst thing I could've done. I became instantly debilitated & felt weak, horrible thoughts going through my head. So far, I have had an MRI (no results yet) & an EMG in my lower legs. I have an EMG in my arms this week. The neurologist who did my EMG in my lower legs (nerve conduction study also) basically told me my test was normal & then spent about 10 minutes with me talking about my anxiety. After that, my symptoms are already reduced by 80%. I am not 100% diagnosed with BFS yet, but have realized the power of the mind can really take over your health. When I am realizing I am not twitching, then think about it, it will start again. Try to avoid internet searching, see your doctor, & wait for your results. Do things that make you happy to distract yourself from your symptoms. That is my best advice to you. Good Luck!

Literally every single thing you've described I have had. All over twitching, plus hotspot twitching, plus arch and calf cramps, plus weak feeling arms and other body parts, plus muscles that are not symmetrical so I thought "atrophy!", plus muscle ratcheting, plus leg and other body part vibrations, plus difficulty swallowing, plus difficulty speaking!!!!!! Guess what???? I AM FINE. I got rid of the anxiety, got rid of gluten (which may or may not help you, but its worth a shot), and I turned to meditation and exercise. I still have random twitching every now and again (we all do!!! Even non BFS people!) , and I still get the occasional foot cramp (because really, who doesn't?). But everything else went back to normal once I took control of my anxiety and changed my outlook. The same will happen for you, I promise. You are fine, I promise! Keep taking your vitamins, and stay away from Dr. Google. God Bless.

Thanks for writing me Irt, it really helps when people respond. I'm not sure if I have beginning of arm and hand weakness... My hand feels very unusual . I feel better when I take a Xanax my tongue seems to relax and not feel swollen in my mouth, and my arm feels somewhat better.. I'm a very scared nervous person now. I hope I get stronger mentally like yourself. I tremor with Anxiety... Thank you for reaching out

Thank you Emmi, I hope your right. I've never been this scared in my life, mostly for my 3 girls, my left arm feels very weird from shoulder to hand. I find it just kinda hangs there sometimes. Like I just told Irt when I take a Xanax I do feel more relaxed and my left arm still feels weird but somewhat better. Every moment is tough. Ugh. : (Thank you for taking time out and writing. : )

Difficult to read a post like this and not want to offer some kind of response as you are obviously in a great deal of distress.

My standard line is "I'm not a doctor and neither are [almost all] people on this board so it is impossible to say what is wrong with you" but here it is so obvious I can make an exception... You have health anxiety and it is making you feel dreadful, it is making you see and feel neurological symptoms which your anxious brain magnifies or creates and then interprets as being signs of impending doom. The reason the EMG doctor wanted to talk about your anxiety is that is what the root cause of this is.

So get as much reassurance from people on here as is helpful (and trust me, there are thousands going through the same as you and they are ALL still fine) but most importantly you need help to deal with the anxiety.

lrt6131 wrote:Hello. I am new here myself. I started having random twitching Sept 5th which blew up into all over twitching within 24 hrs. I have experienced electric zaps, buzzing, sense of weakness, & feeling of itching all over. I even missed a day of work & developed insomnia. I do feel Googling muscle twitching was the worst thing I could've done. I became instantly debilitated & felt weak, horrible thoughts going through my head. So far, I have had an MRI (no results yet) & an EMG in my lower legs. I have an EMG in my arms this week. The neurologist who did my EMG in my lower legs (nerve conduction study also) basically told me my test was normal & then spent about 10 minutes with me talking about my anxiety. After that, my symptoms are already reduced by 80%. I am not 100% diagnosed with BFS yet, but have realized the power of the mind can really take over your health. When I am realizing I am not twitching, then think about it, it will start again. Try to avoid internet searching, see your doctor, & wait for your results. Do things that make you happy to distract yourself from your symptoms. That is my best advice to you. Good Luck!

This is my situation, too.

Perhaps going to a psychologist and getting a mild anti-anxiety or anti-depressant will help.

Hello, I suffer from health anxiety and the lump in your throat is known as globus. Does it go away when you eat / drink but is there all the other times? Do you feel like sometimes it moves up and down your throat? I have had this last year. It too an endoscopy to prove to me it was purely anxiety.

Then I thought I had bowel cancer due to anxiety and ibs - I had a flexisigmoidoscopy and a bowel MRI to prove it was anxiety. The NRI threw up a problem with my ovary - hopefully benign - I've been told by 2 experts it is but waiting for histology. Then there have been the breast cancer scares (my mum passed away from breast cancer 2 years ago), the ct scan for lung cancer, the heart tests for my chest pains (anxiety) but I have a MVP.

Now it's twitching:( which I hope is benign. It's been going on 8 months and has bad and good days. The neuro says I'm fine but its trying to believe it.

What I'm trying to say is that I am so sick of this - I am seeing a therapist and have tried meds but I hate them. I've been off work a year now and due to go back soon. I know how you feel and please try to remember it is most likely anxiety. I never realised before it happened to me how much the brain can affect how you feel.

I literally have every. single. symptom as you. Reading your post was like reading my own experience. The odd feeling in the arm, the weird feeling in the left leg on the lateral calf, the feeling of "about to cramp" but not going into a cramp. I have my first EMG on Tuesday and I am going nuts. How are you feeling these days? Any better?

Hi I'm new here too and just came across this post. I'm so sorry you've been having such a hard time and I just want to reassure you a bit -- I've witnessed my Dad have extremely slurred speech simply from stress. His entire left side of his body went numba dn he couldn't move it. This lasted on and off for an entire YEAR! After countless tests he found out it was simply anxiety! The power of the mind is incredible. I too have insane muscle cramping and very odd weird feelings in my arms and legs. I also develop insane muscle spasms in my back and arms, severe itching numbness, feeling loss of control over my movements etc. You posted this a while ago, so I hope you're doing better. Ellen